The Bulls, Knicks, Warriors and Thunder won their first round series, but fell short of reaching the NBA's Final Four. Each team faces a pivotal offseason with many decisions to consider. Read More. Written by Daniel Leroux on May 21, 2013
The event gives front offices the opportunity to evaluate D-League players with the possibility of offering Summer League or training camp invites. Read More.
Tyus Jones, the No. 2 overall recruit for 2014 and an excellent point guard, was selected by Paul Biancardi, Adam Finkelstein and John Stovall. Read More.
With Andrew Wiggins committing to Kansas this week, several of ESPN's writers that follow high school basketball recruiting offered their opinion on who they would choose to build a team around.
Tyus Jones, the No. 2 overall recruit for 2014 and an excellent point guard, was selected by Paul Biancardi, Adam Finkelstein and John Stovall.
"Point guards make the world go 'round, and Jones is the best in high school right now," wrote Stovall. "Not only can he make plays for himself, he also elevates the games of all of his teammates. Jones is the closest thing you will find to Chris Paul on the amateur level."
Dave Telep selected Harry Giles, a freshman forward out of North Carolina, who has an advanced inside/outside game at 6-9.
Reggie Rankin picked Andrew Harrison, who is a point guard commit for Kentucky.
Andrew Wiggins will sign his letter of intent on Tuesday at approximately 12:15 PM EST.
Wiggins will choose between Florida State, Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina.
Unlike many prominent high school players, Wiggins will not make a televised announcement.
"He does not want to have a press conference signing," Huntington Prep coach Rob Fulford said in a text message. "He wants it private to just his classmates, family and friends."
Wiggins has often been called the best prospect since LeBron James.
Both of Wiggins' parents attended Florida State and the Seminoles are considered the favorite. Kentucky is also in the running due to Wiggins' relationship with John Calipari.
"I have no clue where he's going or leaning, so I'm not much help here," Fulford said.
IMG Academy in Florida is attempting to develop seven foot basketball players similar to what they have done in tennis.
Two of their basketball big men are Meng Xiang Yu from China and Satnam Singh from India. Meng is 7-foot-2 and Singh is 7-foot-0, while both are 17 years old.
"What do you do with these big kids at these sizes at these young ages?" asks Nate Vander Sluis, IMG's national varsity team coach. "How do you develop them from a basketball standpoint and from a physical standpoint? Developing a 7-2 Chinese kid is not the same as trying to develop a 6-foot, 16-year-old kid. Those two muscle groups are two different things given how much growth they have already had."
Because both the AAU system and International professional leagues demand a lot of games, many big men are chronically hurt before they hit 20 or soon thereafter.
"I think it's learning from mistakes," says Dan Barto, the head skills trainer at IMG. "Think about a triathlon runner or a marathon runner. You don't go out and run 26 miles, you run 10 one day and 18 another. It's the same thing here. We are taking our time."
Andrew Wiggins has canceled hime visits he had scheduled this week with Kansas, North Carolina and Florida State.
Wiggins is also considering committing to Kentucky.
Wiggins had 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists in Saturday's Nike Hoop Summit in Portland. Wiggins remains in Portland due to travel problems and still plans on speaking with coaches from those schools on the phone.
Andrew Wiggins is in no rush to choose between his final four of Florida State, Kentucky, North Carolina and Kansas.
Some outlets have reported that Wiggins is favoring Florida State.
“Anyone who says they know where I’m going is a liar,” Wiggins said this week. “I don’t know where I’m going, so they can’t know where I’m going.”
Wiggins will take the floor for his last game as a high school student on Saturday, when the World Select team takes on Team USA in the 15th edition of the Nike Hoop Summit.
Wiggins scored a team-high 20 points in leading the World team to a win in last year’s showcase and would like to repeat that performance.
“I wouldn’t want to play my last game and lose,” the 18-year-old said after practice on Thursday.
Karl Towns is rooming with Andrew Wiggins at the Nike Hoop Summit.
Towns and Wiggins will lead a World Select Team of international players against Team USA on Saturday in the All-Star game.
“We are having a blast,” Towns said. “We are enjoying each other, enjoying time with each other. He is so athletic and skilled on the court. It’s easy to do a pick-and-roll with him. We are going to utilize that on Saturday along with the chemistry we have. Me and him are so outgoing with each other.”
Towns is happy to share the spotlight with Wiggins, who led the World Team to an 84-75 victory over Team USA at last year’s Nike Hoop Summit.
“That has been nice. There are so many great players here. Sometimes you get used to having all the attention and being in the spotlight, but it is great to have someone here like Andrew. It’s very humbling to know he can help with anything I need. It’s nice to have a co-pilot in this big spotlight. That’s one reason I love being here at the Hoop Summit,” Towns said.
Towns knows the exhibition is a good way to make a positive impression.
“With NBA scouts here, it’s always good to start your future early and show what you can do daily,” Towns said.
During Julius Randle’s recruitment, John Calipari focused on his weaknesses and challenged him to want to battle against high-level competition every day.
“No other coach said that,” the sculpted 6-foot-9 Randle said.
Randle will be joined in the Kentucky frontcourt by Dakari Johnson, the top-ranked center; Marcus Lee, the second-ranked center; and James Young, a Michigan native who is the third-ranked small forward.
Randle and Johnson noted they picked Kentucky to get pushed not only in the SEC, but in practice also.
Andrew Harrison was asked how he would fare against Michael Jordan in his prime.
“I think he’d get a couple buckets here and there, but then I’d start to lock him down and give him buckets,” said Harrison, a top 10 player in the class of 2013. “Yeah, I think I’d get him.”
The 6-foot-5 Harrison predicted he would win the game 11-7.
Harrison has signed to play for Kentucky next season.